Jack thought he was getting a good deal when he signed up for $15/month DSL service from AT&T seven months ago. But in the short time since, he’s experienced a full month’s worth of outages and has quickly tired of constantly dealing with AT&T’s tech support (or lack thereof). Luckily, Jack reads Consumerist and was able to employ some tactics he’s learned over the years… and end up saving $140 in the process.

Jack has his own DSL modem which means he doesn’t have a contract or commitment with AT&T. But he couldn’t manage to convince the first CSR he spoke to, who insisted there was a contract and that Jack would incur a $125 early termination fee for canceling.

Here’s Jack in his own words:

I asked for his supervisor to call me to discuss this ridiculousness and (guess what!) the supervisor never did.

So I called back to AT&T and got a new CSR who was, simply, night-and-day from the first CSR. Not only did he agree to cancel my service without a fee, he also agreed to give me a one month credit to my account for my troubles and to reimburse me for the various outages (something I did not ask for, but was pleasantly surprised to receive).

Needless to say, it is CSRs like that that earn my loyalty. While I canceled my DSL today, AT&T will be first on my list for consideration if/when I decide to change my internet/TV provider, solely because of the excellent service this guy provided me (although I will never again use their DSL service).

Just goes to show you the truth behind a Consumerist axiom: If at first you don’t get a good CSR, try, try again.

So thanks! You saved me $140 today!

(ismh_)

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.